Man United v Keano

Tomorrows visitors are managed by United legend Roy Keane. Keano holds a special place in my heart but to be honest I did think it was time for him to leave when he did. Although SAF should have had a replacement for him but alas he didn’t and it took us time to adjust to his absence.

This weekend isn’t about ‘Keano’ it’s about Sunderland coming to OT to get a thumping. They beat spurs on the first day of the season and have since then failed to win another. United have to get another win tomorrow if we are to win the title this year. We can’t afford to draw again and I don’t think it’s possible to lose to them at home ever.

We don’t only need to win tomorrow, we need to win convincingly. This will make the players more confident and with Ronaldo returning against Chelsea it should make our title challenge very strong, we must not slip up again though.

We have played Sunderland 121 times in all competitions and have won 50, lost 38. In the EPL we have played 12 times won 8 lost 1. We have beaten them in all games at home bar the draw in April 2006 which is also the last game we played them. This will not happen tomorrow. My score prediction is 4-0 (I said convincing didn’t I)

I wasn’t able to find any team news up till now but Saha will surely play tomorrow as SAF has said.

UWS

Old Trafford part 2 - Stretford End

Traditionally, the Stretford End housed United's most loyal and patriotic supporters. It was the main standing area of the ground, accommodating 20,000 standing United fans. It was once measured that the roar of the crowd from the Stretford End was louder than a Jumbo Jet taking off. The last game played in front of the famous old terrace was a 3-1 win over Spurs on 2nd May 1992.

In 1993, the Stretford End was converted into an £10 million all-seater cantilever stand to comply with the Taylor Report, and its name was officially changed to West Stand, although it is still often referred to as the Stretford End. In 2000, a second tier of seating was added. As well as hosting a number of executive boxes, the first tier of the West Stand is now partly taken up by the family seating area which is one of the quietest areas in the stadium, a contrast to the old Stretford End. Beneath one of the corners are the players' dressing rooms, tunnel and lounge.

Only Denis Law and Eric Cantona have reached the status "King of the Stretford End" among the United faithful. The former for his formidable goal record, the latter for his on-pitch charisma and aura.

Following Manchester United's premature ending with the clubs sponsor Vodafone, the new sponsor, AIG will not be displayed in the seats; the 'Nike Swoosh' has been relocated to the East Stand and the words "Stretford End" have been written on the seats of the West Stand.

Stretford End is also the title of The Website of Dreams (www.stretfordend.co.uk) which is the unrivalled home of Manchester United statistics on the internet with over 12,000 pages of data about the club's match and player history. It has recently (November 2006) become the official supplier of statistics to Manchester United's official club website (www.manutd.com). The Stretford End website raises funds for two Manchester United charities, Manchester United Disabled Supporters' Association (MUDSA) and United for UNICEF.

Banners

Once work on the second tier was complete, the club allowed supporters to mount banners on the wall in front of the second tier, and groups of supporters got together to produce and pay for them. The slogans on the banners included:

• 031 Years — a reference to the length of time since United's rivals Manchester City had won a major trophy. The supporters purchased a set of matching numbers with velcro so that the number could be updated each year. There are various rumours of this banner being removed by the owner to be taken to FC United of Manchester matches. Stretford End Flags are in the process of deciding if a replica "ticker" banner will be made.
• MUFC The Religion — symbolizing fanaticism and loyalism for the club. MUFC stands for Manchester United Football Club.
• Republik of Mancunia – Red Army — written in faux Cyrillic showcasing the Mancunian pride of the supporters and, for some, their apathy towards the England national football team.
• 2O LEGEND — a reference to the United player Ole Gunnar Solskjær who had been injured for over a year when the banner was made. Solskjær wears number 20 on his shirt.
• One Love – Stretford End – MUFC — One Love is the title of a song by Manchester band the Stone Roses that was played at the 1999 European Cup final, which Manchester United won.
• February 6, 1958 – The Flowers of Manchester — A tribute to the Munich air disaster, in which eight United players died. The Flowers of Manchester is the title of a tribute song by The Spinners.
• Form Is Temporary Class Is Permanent – This banner is a reference to United's history in saying that the Manchester United first team has always had great players. Although anybody can beat anybody else on their day, this does not reflect the quality of the team.
  

The banners were temporarily removed in August 2005. Initially, this was caused by building work on the corners of the stadium, but the majority of their owners decided not to put them back up as a protest against Malcolm Glazer's takeover of Manchester United.

More Banners have returned to Stretford End designed by the fans along with the old ones (i.e. the "ONE LOVE STRETFORD END MUFC" banner). The last banner will be voted on by the fans during the end of 2005. This however has caused much controversy amongst United supporters, some of whom consider it to be a show of faith and acceptance towards Malcolm Glazer and his family.
New Banners

• The Phoenix Banner - "MUFC - EST 1878 WE'LL NEVER DIE" (first in place at the Blackburn match)
• Blue Nose Day Banner - "Blue Nose day comic relief for 29 yrs" (in place at the Manchester City match)
• In Memory of Noel Cantwell Banner - "Noel Cantwell 1932-2005 RIP" (in place at the Manchester City match)
• Eusebio I Say Kiddo Banner - "Eusebio and I say Kiddo...Kiddo,Kiddo - Wembley'68" (in place at the Benfica match)
• United > England (in place at the Tottenham match, but has been banned since due to one complaint)
  

From Wikipedia.

Farewell to the Baby-Faces Assasin

Ole could possibly be the nicest guy to grace OT (and the most under-rated). He never complained about anything, he just went on with his job and did what he does best, score goals. He joined united when SAF failed to lure Shearer to the club in 1996. He scored 18 goals in his first season. Ole was dubbed by the fans as a ‘super sub’ and who can blame them after he formed a habit of scoring crucial goals for the club in the dying minutes of important games. No one will forget when he came off the bench to score 4 goals in the 8-1 thrashing of Forest and also scoring the greatest goal in Manchester United history…The winner of the 1999 Champions League Final. To date he is the highest scoring sub for United scoring 28 goals off the bench.

His time at United has come now to an end, retiring because of a recurring knee problem that has plagued him since the 2003 season. He will always be remembered in every United fans heart. Ole will remain at the Club in a coaching capacity and will represent Manchester United as an official Ambassador.

Ole said: "I would like to thank the Manager, the coaching and medical staff and most of all the supporters, who have supported me through my career. They have been fantastic and were a real inspiration to me when I was out injured. "The support the fans and the staff showed me during that time was the main motivation for me making my comeback. I feel proud to have represented Manchester United for 11 years and have some very special memories.”

Last year I was lucky enough to get him to sign my 00/01 League shirt. It’s really sad to see him leave but maybe now we will sign the extra striker we need to complete our squad for the season. Ole you will be missed.

Ole's United Honours

• Premier League (6): 1996/97, 1998/99, 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2006/07
• FA Cup (2): 1999, 2004
• UEFA Champions League (1): 1999
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1999
• Community Shield (2): 1996, 2003
  

Old Trafford

Old Trafford or as Sir Bobby Charlton named it ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ is home to the greatest football team in the world. It’s been the home of Manchester United since 1910, bar the eight years in World War 2 after it got bombed. The Stadium had been used many times while Wembley under went reconstruction to host England internationals, that just solidifies its position as the best stadium in England. Old Trafford has hosted the Fa Cup final and the Champions League final in 1915 and 2003 respectively. Its current capacity is just over 76000. It has the potential to be expanded to 96000 with further development.

Did you know?

• The ground has appeared in more movies than any other in Britain.
• OT was the first English ground to have a perimeter fence installed to stop fan violence and hooliganism.
• Weather doesn’t usually affect games at OT because the center of the pitch is nine inches higher than the edges helping out the drainage of surface water. There is also 37 kilometers of piping under the surface circulating hot water to melt any snow that might fall on the turf.
• OT has is own railway station which only operates on match days.
• OT is the only UEFA 5 star rated Stadium in England.
• It has hosted a Rugby League Grand Final match.

I personally have never been to OT because when I was in England last year we played away at Fratton park and I went there. I can just imagine what it would be like to be sitting in Stretford End. To hear the roar of 76000 fans screaming when the ball hits the back of the net.

UWS

Manchester United 1- 0 Spurs

Our first win today, which just puts a smile on my face. Even though we didn’t look as strong today as we did in our first three games we still came away with 3 points. That just shows you how frustrating football can be. I was cursing the entire game about how narrow we were playing and then the goal comes. From then onwards it was nail biting stuff until the final whistle as Spurs changed gear determined to get a point.

There weren’t many chances in the game for us. Scholes went just over the bar with a shot, Carrick just missed from 20-yards out and Hargreaves with two long range shots off target. The referring was good today because Spurs could have easily been given an unjust penalty for what seemed to be a Wes Brown hand ball at time. Just before that Rio cleared the ball just a few centimeters before the line denying Berbatov his first goal of the season.

Today Tevez and Carrick were both terrible, good think we took Carrick off though I think taking Tevez off wasn't a good idea and. What if Spurs Scored? We would only have Eagles upfront, that would have been to much pressure for the youngster. Tevez is very ineffective on his own upfront and will be a much better player once he gets Saha up front with him(which should be next weekend) but we still need a top striker on the field no matter what.

Match Stats
United Spurs
Shots (on Goal) United 14(5)Spurs 10(3)
Fouls United15 Spurs 7
Corner Kicks United 4 Spurs 4
Offsides United4 Spurs 5
Time of Possession United 63% Spurs 37%
Yellow Cards United 2 Spurs 3
Red Cards 0 0
Saves 2 4

The result was just what United needed to get some confident spirits on the training ground tomorrow. It will surely boost the team for Sunderland and after that Ronaldo will be back to face Chelsea in our next EPL game. United will get through this hard period of injuries and suspensions and after that we will dominate the rest of the season.

GGMU

Top half of the table tomorrow.

I tried to dig up us much as I can on tomorrows opponents but there wasn’t much I could find. I don’t know if I'm looking in the right places though. Two memorable games that I can remember though with Spurs are coming back from 1-0 down at home in the last game of the season in 1999. This come back was the first of three vitals games towards the treble. Another is the 5-3 come back at white heart lane on the 29th of September 2001, with Beckham, Blanc, Cole, Van Nistelrooy and Veron the scorers.

We have played Spurs 30 times in the EPL winning 22 losing 3, not once have we lost at home but we have drawn 3 times. In total we have played Spurs 162 times won 74 and lost 46. The 30 games we have played in the EPL have seen a total of 80 goals which is just below a 3 goals per game average.

Today our 3 rivals for the title all won their games which leave us 8 point behind Chelsea. A must win game for us tomorrow.

I think the score is going to be 3-0 in our favor. I know this sounds optimistic considering my last three predictions but let me set something straight. I NEVER THINK WE ARE GOING TO LOSE. Not once since I have started watching football have I ever thought we would lose and I never will. Even if we are playing Real Madrid with our reserve team will I think a loss for us impossible. I say that when a player walks onto the field wearing a United strip he is a 25% better footballer. United is about passion and heart. Players will always have the backing of the fans regardless of the odds.

UNITED WE STAND.

Not so busy day.

Not a lot has happened today except that Benitez started whining about how unfair his team is treated by the Premier League.

He Said "How can a player with a signed agreement be treated like this?He has a document which is clear, but the Premier League prefers to believe the word of someone else who made a mistake."
I'm sure that if Liverpool had a legal leg to stand on they would have taken it further. The Premier League would not have ignored a legally binding letter, Obviously the letter wasn't.

"Then I would like to ask the Premier League why is it that Liverpool always plays the most fixtures away from home in an early kick-off, following an international break? We had more than the top clubs last season and we have four already to prepare for this season."
Its all about ratings Rafa, more people want to watch United so they give us the better time slot. Accept it Liverpool isn't as important and United.

Benitez added: "Then I want to ask the Premier League why it was so difficult for Liverpool to sign Javier Mascherano, when we had to wait a long time for the paperwork, but it was so easy for Carlos Tevez to join Manchester United?"
The Tevez Saga was going on for weeks, obviously United's team of experts were preparing for the deal. Also the Premier League had dealt with a matter like this before as you clearly put it and it was easier the second time around.

And my favorite thing he said "It's going to be very difficult for us to win the Premier League because the other teams are so strong, but I want our supporters to know that despite the disadvantages we have, we will fight all the way. We will fight to cope with our more difficult kick-off times and all the other decisions which are going against us."
This sounds like an excuse to me and so early in the season mate.

Heinze
The traitor has finally left us, good. He destroyed a good name he had with the United fans. Did he really think he could prove something? Did he think he was going to create a "Heinze" rule like Bosman? I think he thought the deal was as good as done and wanted to get United back for not having him in the starting line up. Can you just imaging the boo's at OT when real come to visit.

GGMU